Robust Photonic Switch On The Way

In the heated race to build an optical-core photonic switch for the hungry telecommunications market, Radiant Photonics, Inc. (RPI; Austin, TX), may have the inside track. The company has developed a more versatile and robust switch than competing photonic models, thanks to use of electro-optic polymers developed in part from BMDO SBIR research. These proprietary electro-optic polymers form an electro-optic prism that varies its index of refraction in response to input voltage, allowing the device to route signals along certain paths. RPI's switch is insensitive to polarization differences or slight wavelength variations, eliminating the need for more expensive lasers and related correcting equipment that other polymer-based switching technologies would require. The device performs equally well over all currently used communications bands (C, L, and S bands), can provide faster switching speeds (up to 1 nanosecond vs. 4 milliseconds for other proposed optical-core switches), and features low insertion losses (less than 1 decibel). The interconnect may be designed to accommodate up to 50 output channels.

To date, there are only a handful of optical-core switches on the market in limited production. However, the optical switch market is expected to reach $900 million by 2002 and $4.11 billion by 2008. RPI plans to begin commercial production of its photonic switch by Summer 2001. So far, the company has built several thermo-optic switches (which operate on the same principle as electro-optic switches, except that the prism is controlled by heat rather than voltage, and so the switch is slower). In September 2000, the company obtained $18 million in first-round venture funding to start a manufacturing facility for optical networking products. It welcomes inquires from additional investors.